Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford tweets that Borderlands 2 is gold, following last month's word that the game was complete and on track for its release next month: "Borderlands 2 is now GOLD (360, PS3 EU, PS3 NA, Win PC)! PSN, PS3 JP + others imminent. Official statement to come when all ballots are in." VG247 notes that there is a pretty funny ESRB description for the role-playing shooter sequel:

his is a first-person shooter in which players join rebel forces to take down an oppressive corporation on the fictional planet of Pandora. As players explore open-world environments, they complete missions to gain experience and increase their characters' skills/abilities. Players use machine guns, sniper rifles, flamethrowers, explosives, and weaponized vehicles to kill human-like characters and hostile aliens in frequent combat. Firefights contain realistic gunfire/explosions; injured enemies scream and emit exaggerated splashes of blood. Various weapons result in dismembered limbs or bloody gibs. Some missions depict intense acts of violence: viewing characters getting electrocuted; shooting a man in the face; killing players' incinerating a cult member as part of a ritual sacrifice. The dialogue contains jokes/one-liners that reference sexual material (e.g., “I will hang myself from my own tombstone if in you I can't put my bone,” “If there's anything they love more than getting to second base with their sisters, it's cars,” “Bacon is for sycophants and products of incest.”); during some sequences, players can find and collect adult-themed magazines—though no actual nudity is depicted. One mission requires players to consume three alcoholic beverages from a bar before they can progress. The words “sh*t,” “p*ssies,” and “a*shole” can be heard in the dialogue, in addition to language censored by audible bleeps (e.g., “God-[bleep]-ing-dammit”).

Again, does this apply to all media or just games? We've had violent stories and books forever, violent movies for many decades, and violent games for over 20 years. Aside from the aforementioned insane people, about which there's no telling what will set them off, what exactly are you predicting will happen to society, and what evidence do you have to support that hypothesis?

The irony is that the story of the Passion of Jesus Christ, something that most morality crusaders hold very near and dear to their hearts, is rife with extreme, brutal torture and suffering. They tell you that this is "in a context" as if that changes anything. I'd rather let my daughter play Grand Theft Auto than see a church play that details the Crucifixion. GTA's violence is goofy and tongue-in-cheek; the story of Christ's execution is brutal and intense. That's far worse in my opinion to expose a child to. I would prefer not to be lectured by people who believe every word of what the Bible says. Read up on what the Israelites would do to the population of cities they conquered, then tell me my choice of entertainment is too violent.

This comment was edited on Aug 20, 2012, 16:28.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” - Mahatma Gandhi